A Runner and Gym-goer with Costochondritis

Jess came to me with a 7-month history of Costochondritis, which is the medical term for inflammation of the cartilage that joins your ribs to your sternum (chest bone). This area is known as the costosternal joint, and we have 7 pairs of them. It can also affect the costochondral junctions of the ribs.

For Jess, this had come about due to poor posture, and was provoked by driving, kick boxing, workouts at the gym, running, dancing on a night out, playing pool in the pub and lifting shopping bags.

She had been to see her GP twice, and had undergone a course of treatment with a Chiropractor, which only helped to a small degree, but didn’t get to the root cause of the problem and as a result, 7 months on, her symptoms were persisting.

On examination, it was evident that she had poor posture, and there was a significant degree of stiffness and restriction in her thoracic spine (mid back). Now, if we consider the anatomy of our rib cage; the thoracic spine forms joints with the ribs at the back (the costovertebral and costotransverse joints), the ribs then run around our rib cage, and form joints with the sternum at the front (costochondral joints), and because of the stiffness at the back, the costochondral joints at the front were simply getting overloaded and becoming inflamed.

I therefore started Jess on a home exercise programme to address her posture and improve the flexibility of her thoracic spine, along with giving her postural tips and pointers. Furthermore, I referred her to In Balance Hot Yoga in Southampton, which is a fantastic way to improve posture and flexibility.

After 8 weeks, Jess is now pain free, stretching regularly, attending Yoga a couple of times a week, back to running and the gym. What a great outcome. This is what Jess had to say about us and In Balance Hot Yoga on Google: –

I’ve been to 4 sessions with Jonathan in the last 2 months and all I can say is he is a miracle worker and I can’t recommend him highly enough. I had been in pain and suffering with Costochondritis for 7 months and nothing the doctor had suggested had made any difference, Jonathan gave me a set of stretches to do daily and recommended trying yoga, after only a few days I noticed a big difference! I am now back to normal and have no pain at all – I have been able to go running again and back to the gym as well as finding a new hobby (yoga). Thank you so much! Jessica Ha

If you’re suffering with any postural related problems, then don’t delay your treatment, and why not get to In Balance Hot Yoga in Southampton. Typical postural related problems take 3 months to overcome with the right treatment plan in place.